


Their Ethereal Love

by oudkee



Category: Inazuma Eleven: Ares no Tenbin
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Love Letters, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-07-25 11:28:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16196633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oudkee/pseuds/oudkee
Summary: Hiroto Kira found himself deeply in love with his university soccer team's captain. Little does he know, there's a secret about the captain that will make him fall in love even more.Slow burn, college AU where the whole orphanage thing never happened.





	1. Chapter 1

He snuck away from practice, knowing he wouldn't be followed as it was common of him to do so. Quietly, he slipped into the team's locker room and over to his captain's locker. He traced the embossed lettering on the plaque on the locker's door - Tatsuya Kiyama. He paused for a moment, turning to leave, but something was holding him back. Blushing, he hurriedly slipped a white envelope into the vent of the locker and hurried away, not wanting to see his captain again for the day out of shame and embarrassment.

The letter may have been anonymous, but he could never let Tatsuya see his reaction. He could never openly admit that he - Hiroto Kira, the god striker - was deeply in love with Tatsuya Kiyama.

~

"Has anyone seen Hiroto?" Tatsuya asked later that afternoon, after practice had finished up. No one had known where he went, only that they had seen him leave hours earlier.

Tatsuya sighed. "I guess it's fine. He practices on his own, he'll be okay." He opened his locker, and a small white envelope fluttered out. A look of confusion crossed his clear green eyes as he studied the envelope - blank except for his name on the back.

"What's that, Tatsuya?"  
"Is that a... love letter?"  
"Open it, open it!"

The green-eyed boy blushed lightly at his friends' eagerness. "Th-there's no way it's a love letter! I'm sure it's something reasonable..." he trailed off, taking the letter out of the envelope and beginning to read it. As the moments passed, he began to blush deeper and deeper, much to the delight of everyone else in the room.

"It IS a love letter! He's blushing!"  
"Will you read it to us?"

Tatsuya collected himself as much as he possibly could, holding the letter close to himself and out of anyone else's reach. "This... this is a private matter between myself and whoever wrote this letter. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to tell anyone what it says."

His teammates were disappointed, but the subject was dropped and everyone discussed their Friday night plans before going off their separate ways for the night. Tatsuya headed back to his dorm in a daze, clutching the letter to his chest, aching to read it over and over again. Someone had actually given him a love letter...! His older sister, Reina, had gotten tons of love letters before - usually from Saginuma - but for him to get a letter!

Arriving back at his dorm, he flopped down on his bed and carefully read over the letter, once, twice, thrice... He studied every word, blushing, his lips parted slightly - he was dying to know who had written such beautiful words.

" _Beautiful Tatsuya -_

_Every day, you are an inspiration to me. You are a strong and amazing leader, and the most alluring and charming young man I've ever laid eyes upon. Your eyes are as pure as untouched galaxies, your hair a soft ocean of that beautiful colour of passion. I long to be kissed by your lips, and loved by your gentle, kindhearted soul._

_The day we met, I found myself lost in your eyes. I feel as though our meeting was fate arranged by the stars themselves. I know you might never feel the same way for me, but please know that you are my sun and my love._

_\- Forever yours_ "

Tatsuya closed his eyes. He just _had_ to know who wrote this letter. It couldn't have been any of the girls on his team - Clara had a boyfriend, and Barra simply disliked everyone. Maybe it was a girl he knew from outside the team, he was a bit popular - though not as popular with the ladies as Hiroto Kira was.

He drifted off to sleep, dreaming of who his secret admirer could possibly be.

~

Hiroto did not get quite as much sleep - he had sat awake all night feeling miserable and regretting his actions. Tatsuya had probably just thrown away the letter and forgotten about it... he was a pretty popular guy, surely he got tons of letters like this all the time...

The next day at practice, everyone was gossiping about who Tatsuya's secret admirer could possibly be. Hiroto played it cool, pretending not to know what was going on.

"Tatsuya... what's all this talk of a 'love letter'?"  
"Oh... Yesterday after practice, I found a love letter in my locker. It really shocked me. I-I've never gotten a love letter before."  
"A popular guy like you!? Nah, c'mon. Don't be so humble, surely some girls have at least confessed to you before."  
A smirk crossed Tatsuya's face. "No, not really."

The grey-haired boy breathed deeply after their conversation. The first love letter Tatsuya had ever gotten... was from _him_. He desperately wondered what his beautiful crush had thought of the letter, but he didn't want to press details and make himself too obvious. He approached Midorikawa and Saginuma after practice finished up.

"How did he react...? Well... first he opened the letter, he seemed a bit surprised." Midorikawa stated.  
"Then, he read the words - surely words of an unspoken love - and was left speechless." Saginuma added.  
"Yeah, and he blushed like crazy!! I've never seen him so embarrassed," Midorikawa added. "But not in a bad way. He held it close to his chest, and he kept trying not to smile the whole time. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if he was a bit in love with whoever wrote him that letter."

"Is that so," Hiroto muttered, feigning boredom. "Whoever wrote it should feel happy."


	2. Chapter 2

Hiroto felt elated that Tatsuya appreciated the love letter. But... now what? He couldn't exactly come forward and admit that it was him - he had a reputation to keep up in front of the others - they saw him as a carefree bad boy, not a loving, poetic type. Regardless, back at his dorm, he sat at his desk to write another letter to his beloved:

" _My love, I want so badly to confess to you - I want you to know who I am. However, my sweet Tatsuya - perhaps it is a bit too early. I think maybe I am a bit afraid of being turned away if you cannot love me in return. It's better if I keep loving you from afar._

_Please keep smiling, as long as I can see that you're happy, it's all I really need._

_\- Forever yours_ "

He ditched practice early again the next day to leave the letter for Tatsuya to find. He slipped the letter into his locker, and turned to leave - seeing Saginuma standing there.

"You... you wrote that first letter to him?"  
"D-don't be silly! I'm just playing a little prank on him," Hiroto said, blushing and avoiding eye contact with the taller boy. "It'd be so uncool of me to write mushy garbage like that."  
Saginuma frowned, stepping closer to the grey-haired boy, placing a hand on his shoulder and lowering his voice to almost a whisper. "If you really do have feelings for him, your secret's safe with me."  
"I-I don't!!"  
"If you ever need help writing those sweet letters... come find me. I won't tell a soul, on my honour as a man."

The two stood in silence for a moment as the rest of the guys entered the locker room after practice. Hiroto casually opened his locker to change his clothes, occasionally glancing over at Tatsuya to watch his expression change as another small letter fell out of his locker.

"It's... another one. The handwriting is the same..."  
He read the short letter and sighed softly, a distant expression crossing his face. "I want to meet the person that wrote this."

Hiroto chuckled. "Maybe it's just someone playing a prank on you. You'll probably just be let down if you find out who it's from."  
"I still want to know... no one's ever approached me like this before, even as a joke. And... I don't think this is a joke. The penmanship and words are too nice. I won't stop until I find out who sent me these letters."

~

The weeks continued, with Hiroto continuing to send him a couple sweet letters every week or so. He gave in and asked Saginuma for a bit of help writing beautiful words that would make Tatsuya blush and smile in that lovely way, the way that made Hiroto's heart race. 

The other boys on the team investigated almost the whole school, trying to figure out which girls would have an interest in doing something like this - meanwhile, Tatsuya tried to match the handwriting to that of his female classmates - coming up with no leads.

One day in the middle of autumn, Hiroto skipped practice entirely, only showing up in his casual clothes to leave another letter to his crush. He dropped the letter in once again, and left the locker room. Tatsuya was coming down the hallway and saw him turn to leave, so he called out to him.

"Hiroto! What are you doing here if you're not here for practice?"  
"Just came to get something I left in my locker."  
"Hiroto..."  
"What?"

Tatsuya gulped nervously over the accusation he was about to make. "This is going to sound weird, but... are... did you... Hiroto, did you write those letters to me...?"

The grey-haired boy froze. A blush spread across his face and he couldn't find any words to say. Tatsuya stepped closer to the boy, embracing him. His voice softened. "You wrote those letters for me...? You... really feel that way about me?"

"Don't be ridiculous..." Hiroto mumbled, tears falling from his eyes. "Someone like me, in love with you? I don't... I never..."

Tatsuya shushed him, wiping a stray tear off his cheek. Slowly, he leaned in and pressed his lips to Hiroto's, eliciting a small noise from him. Hiroto's hands found their way onto Tatsuya's back, deepening the kiss. Tatsuya pressed his lips to Hiroto's time and time again, holding him close - as if they had been lovers for ages. Hiroto's mind went completely white, as he let himself succumb to the moment, and the intense passion he felt in his heart from being kissed by the red-haired boy.

"I only wish... that I could tell you what I really am, without you being afraid of me... and all your other teammates."

"What...? Tatsuya, what do you mean?"

Tatsuya shook his head and pulled away from the intimate embrace. "I'll have to tell you at some point. Our team sponsor even has us labelled... We're _aliens_."


	3. Chapter 3

Hiroto had no idea how to respond. The statement had come out of nowhere, and Tatsuya was never the type to joke around about cryptids or things like that.

"...Aliens? Tatsuya, tell me you're joking," Hiroto said, trying to play it off with a dry laugh. "You know that won't work on me."

"Hiroto, I'm serious. Why else would everyone on Eisei be majoring in astrophysics and things like that? It's not an easy major, yet you never see us study for it. Because we were already taught most of it as young kids on our planet."

The grey-haired boy furrowed his brow. "That's not enough to make me believe you. If you don't want me to get close to you then just say so. I get it."

"I'm not lying!! I just... have no real way of proving it to you... outside of, um, showing you our biology, but I don't think that's really appropriate..."

Hiroto blushed. "No, I... I don't..."

Tatsuya moved to place his hands on his friend's shoulders. "When the time is right, I can tell you more and more about our species... but you have to trust me, and promise you won't be afraid of us."

~

The two began dating, spending lots of time with each other outside of classes and soccer practice. They often went on double dates with Reina and Saginuma, or stayed at one of their own dorms to watch movies and eat take-out while snuggled up on the couch.

Hiroto now knew they were all aliens, but there was something else that he had no idea about. A reason for the tensions between some of the members. Tatsuya was the heir to the throne on their home planet, but had shown carelessness in dealing with any issues back home, almost as if by focusing on Hiroto so much, he was running away. 

He had no interest in preparing for his coronation or bearing heirs to the throne after himself - and very little interest on the needs of his people. Much of Eisei was growing frustrated by his focus on his human lover, and his refusal to tell him of his status on his planet. Suzuno was perhaps the most fed up with his captain's behaviour, and opted to tell Hiroto himself.

"You know he's our prince, right. He's keeping that from you."

The two stood alone in the locker room while practice was going on just outside. Suzuno rarely ever spoke, so it surprised Hiroto to hear him speaking directly to him.

"He's... what? You don't mean Tatsuya, right?"  
"Gran, not Tatsuya. He's the heir to the throne on our planet, and he's completely disregarding his duties to be with you."  
"You're lying! Jealousy isn't a good look for you."

Suzuno furrowed his brow. "Please. I wouldn't want to date a prince with no interest in our planet's future."  
"You're... you're serious? We've been together for months, and he... never told me?"  
"He never even told you his real name, apparently."

~

Hiroto was hurt. Part of him didn't want to believe Suzuno, but Tatsuya had been acting a bit strange whenever he was asked about his home planet. He approached his lover when they were alone together that evening, his voice quiet and trembling.

"Gran... Is it true you've been hiding things from me?"

Tatsuya looked startled at the mention of his true name. He tried to regain his composure. "What are you talking about...?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! That you're some prince from wherever it is you're from, and you've been hiding that tiny little detail from me!"

"Because I'm tired of being royalty! I wanted to be with someone who wouldn't treat me weird, and I'm sick of being a prince anyway... I hate it so much."

"Clearly you didn't love me enough to trust me!!" Hiroto was infuriated, and got up to leave Tatsuya's dorm. The red-haired boy got up after him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Please, don't leave me..."  
"So that I can stay and be lied to more? I'm just glad I never slept with you, I bet you would've infected me with some alien virus, too."

Tatsuya took his hand off Hiroto's shoulder and stepped back, saying nothing as tears began to well up in his eyes.

"Maybe you _should_ focus on your royal duties and leave Earth alone. I never should've trusted someone to love me, especially not you."


	4. Chapter 4

_"To tell you the truth, I have always loved you from the day we met. When I figured out that it was you writing those letters, my heart sped up tenfold. There is something about you I have always found alluring - though I've always been too scared to tell you how I felt because of what I am..._

_I miss your warmth, and your laugh... Please forgive me for keeping my secrets from you._

_-Gran_ "

The red-haired alien dropped the letter into Hiroto's locker long before practice was to begin that day, hoping he would finally show up. Eisei had an important game coming up, and Hiroto's abilities would help win the match. Eisei could _probably_ pull it off without him, but all Gran wanted was for his love to return, even if just for one match.

No one on the team had seen Hiroto at all in a couple weeks by this point. Gran was caring less and less about practicing for the match, spending sleepless nights thinking only about Hiroto. One evening, he had finally gathered the courage to go to his dorm after classes and try to talk to him, and try to make things up to him somehow. Gran's father was quite strict with relationships, pressing for Gran to fall in love with a girl from their home planet - though Gran had little romantic interest in anyone at all until he had met Hiroto. He didn't care if his father would be angry with him, all he wanted was to make Hiroto his prince.

He mustered up the courage to knock on the door, and Hiroto answered, his face emotionless, but with telltale signs that he had been crying.

"What?"

"Run away with me."

"...I have classes tomorrow. Leave me alone."  
Hiroto began to shut the door, but Gran stopped him.  
"I want to show you the stars. I want to spend time with you again, without hiding anything. I'll tell you everything about my planet, my family, and my friends on Eisei. I just..." Gran sighed deeply, desperate to be with his love again. "I want to be near you."

Hiroto stared at the floor, unsure what to say.  
"...Will you... will you hold me close while we look at the sky...?"  
Gran gently pulled him close, kissing his soft lips for the first time in what felt like forever.  
"I'll do anything for you, Hiroto."

~

They spent the night deep in the open country, laying together atop the highest hill they could find, watching the stars twinkle and an occasional meteor fall. They kissed on and on, and with Gran adjusting himself on top of him, they became intimate in the way that lovers do. They awoke the next morning still embracing, simply laying there in silence and watching the clouds above them. They enjoyed the delicate moments together, a tear or two coming to Hiroto's eyes, only to be kissed away by his alien lover. 

Eventually they returned to their university, albeit late to their classes for the day but with neither caring much. Later in that week, Eisei won their important game against Seishou, thanks to Gran and Hiroto's combined efforts with everyone else on the team. They noticed the two of them seemed much happier than ever, and all was fine for a while. The two spent even more time alone together, taking lots of trips up to their favourite hill to be together until the morning. One morning, however, Gran's worst fear came true.

"So... the rumours were true. You're sleeping with a man, outside your species at that."  
The two were startled awake at the sudden voice, Gran jolting upright and fumbling to stand up as a reflex from the adrenaline.  
"Father... I-"  
"Don't speak! I already understand. However, you won't be punished for this, so there's no need to worry."  
"P-punished?" Hiroto mumbled, still trying to wake up and make sense of what was going on. "We're doing nothing wrong."  
Ryuuichi made a disgusted face at the grey-haired boy. "Earthworm. I've heard it all from Gazel, how you've tempted my son into falling for you just so you can have a chance at the throne."

"Father, that's not true!"  
"What's going on? Who's Gazel?"

"Gran, the reason you will not be punished for this is simple. I've already arranged for you to marry a fine woman back on Aliea. She is incredibly beautiful, I think she'll bear fine heirs for you."  
"I refuse! I only love Hiroto!"

Ryuuichi smirked. He eyed the grey haired boy one last time, then turned his gaze back towards Gran.  
"You're coming back home with me. You need to forget about this boy, or he dies."

Gran's blood ran cold.  
"...Promise you won't hurt him. I'll do as you say..."

"That's more like it. Let's go."

The man took his son back down the hill to his cruiser, and Hiroto watched as it flew off, carrying his only love away from him. He screamed as loud as he could, cursing the fact that he had suddenly found some happiness and just as quickly had it stolen from him.


End file.
